In amidst ongoing battles over the future of our NHS – it’s been revealed exclusively to Whitelines that culture secretary John Wittingdale has proposed an unprecedented contract for young British snowboarders on the GB Park and Pipe team as they work towards the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. With the aim of providing “a more consistent party line with regards to contractual obligations on young working people”, the new terms could affect riders as young as 16.

Included in the proposition are obligations to attend extended training 7 days a week with at least 5 hours in the gym, and a minimum of 4 hours a day spent on Facebook’s new live video feature. Sub clauses allowing time for travelling and actual snowboarding are yet to be finalised.

The real controversy, however, lies around the culture secretary’s demands that riders should attend every event they qualify for, regardless of timing and location. A big cause for concern when you consider the snowboarding worlds’s tendency to host consecutive events on different continents, with some even occurring on the same day!

A spokesperson for the Cabinet maintained that the rigorous demands and training measures would provide a more effective public entertainment service, but noted that additional funding is not available at this stage.